Combination steel tie and splice bar construction



y. 1950 1-. w. RORE'ER, SR 2,514,724

COMBINATION STEEL TIE AND SPLICE BAR- CONSTRUCTION Filed May 14, 1948 In z'eutm' Th Elma-15 \AZRIJIT ET 51".

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Patented July 11, 1950 UNITED STATES fPAreNr ore-ICE I CONSTRUCTION ThomaslW. Rorrer, Sn, Coeburn, Va. Application May 14, 1948, seria No. 27,137

1 7 This invention relates to a combination'ti'e and splice bar construction adaptable for the laying of railway tracks, specially in coal mines and more particularly provides a structure having means for anchoring a pair of rails to the tie portion thereof and in properly spaced relationship and which is especially applicable for use at the joints of rails for eliminating" the use of angle bars or splice bars for connecting the rail sections.

The present invention constitutes "animprovement on my prior U. S. Letters Patent No. 2,024,306, issued December 17, 1935, and entitled Steel Tie or Bridle Bar Construction and particularly aims to provide a combination structure capable of use for all purposes for which'the structure of said prior patent is intended and which may be constructed with a considerable saving of material. I Still a further object of the invention is to provide a combination tie and splice bar construction wherein all the essential parts thereof are non-detachably fastened to the tie as a base thereby eliminating the possibility of loss ofany of the parts and affording a structure capable of being readily applied to a pair of rails for securing the rails in properly spaced apart relationship to one another and for effectively connecting the abutting ends of rail sections so that said ends will be secured in abutting end-to-end relationship and supported on the tie.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of "the drawing, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

Figure l is a top plan View showing the tie in an applied position;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the tie taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a cross sectional View thereof taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 33 of Figure 1;

Figure l is a perspective View of the rigid outside locking lug, and V Figure 5 is a similar view of the pivotally mounted inside locking lug.

Referring more specifically to the drawing,vthe

numeral l designates generally a railway tie preferably formed of steel and of aconstruction preferably enabling it to be manufactured by a rolling process. As best seen in Figure 3, the longitudinal edges of the tie I are provided with depending reinforcing flanges 8, formed by turning 3 Claims. (Cl. 238- 260) down-the side edge portions of the tie I, and 'said' tie has a centrally depressed longitudinal rib '9 'whicli depends to substantially the same depth asthe flanges 8. Said rib 9 and flanges '8 are adapted to rest on the same supporting surface or ballast to function to prevent warping of the tie and lac-produce a structure which is exceedingiy strong and thereby enables the tie to be rolled "thinner than would otherwise be possible and without sacrifice of strength or efliciency.

A rigid lug I0 is secured to the upper side of the tie I, transversely thereof and adjacent one end ofsai'd tie and is provided with a portion adapted to engage against the outer side of the web of a iail l2 and in overlying relationship to one side ofthe flange of said rail. The lug "lil is preferably secured by rivets or similar fas'tenin'gs llfixedly to the tie l. A turn-button oi" bar I3 is" pivotally secured to the upper side :ofvthe tie by a rivet or fastening M which eng'ages the turn -butt'on l 3, substantially intermediate ,ofthe ends thereof and said turn-button whfeninits operative, full line position of Figure l, longitudinally of the tie I, has one end there- "of earin against the top sides of the flange of the rail I 2 to cooperate with the lug In for dejtacliabl'y securing the rail to the tie I or said turnbutton may be swung to its dotted line position of Figure l, transverse to the tie l, for applying the rail l2 to the tie l or for removing it therefrom. The lug Ill and cooperating turn-button 'or bar l3 are of conventional construction and form nojpart of the present invention but are adaptedt'o be utilized at one end of the tie I for attaching a non-jointed part of a rail thereto.

A locking lug 15 includes a base portion I 6 which-issecured by rivets or the like I! to the tie 7!, adjacent its opposite end and said lug I5 is provided with upwardly inclined portions which extends from the base IE, as seen at l8 and which is adapted to bear against one side of'the flange of another rail, designated generally I9 and which includes two corresponding rail sections which are disposed in abutting end-to-end relationship and with theljoint thereof resting on the tie'!. The locking lug it also includes an elongated bar 2!! which is formed integral with the inclined portion l8 and which is disposed substantially at a right angle to the base portion L5 and which is of a length substantially greater than the width of the lug portions it and I8. The bar-ifl is adapted to engage against the outer side of the web of the rail 19 and so as to substantially overlie the joint thereof and is provided adjacent its ends with openings 2|.

An adjustable locking lug, designated generally 22 and illustrated in Figure 5 is adapted to function in conjunction with the fixed locking lug It. The locking lug 22 includes an elongated bar 23 having a relatively long, substantially flat portion 24 which rests upon the upper side of the tie 1, inwardly of the fixed lug l5 and which is connected thereto by a single rivet or similar I fastening 25, by means of which the locking lug at a right angle to'the tie and extending in a direction transversely thereof and adapted to abut against the outer side of the web of one of the rails and in overlapping relationship to abutting ends of two sections of said rail, and adjustable substantially L-shaped locking lugs including an elongated bar forming one leg thereof pivotally connected to the upper side of the tie and inwardly of the other leg of the fixed looking lug, said adjustable locking lug being disposed in a plane substantially at a right angle to the pivoted bar portion to provide a web engaging bar formed integra1 with one end of the the rail [9 and the upper end of which is formed"v integral with the bottom edge of one end of a web engaging bar 2! which forms the other part of the adjustable locking lug 22 and which is disposed substantially at a right angle to the bar 24 to engage the opposite side of the web of the rail l9 and which, when the lug 22 is in its position of Figure l is disposed in opposed, substantially coextensive relationship to the web engaging bar 29 of the lug IS. The bar 21 is provided adjacent its ends with longitudinally elongated openings 28 adapted to be aligned with the openings 21 for receiving nut and bolt fasten- ,ings 29 the shanks of which extend through 1 bar is pivotally connected to the upper side of the tie l by a rivet or similar fastenings 32, adjacent one end thereof, and is provided with a lateral extension 33 at its opposite, free end. The

free end portion 34 of the latch member 3|, as

best seen in Figure 2, is upwardly oiTset so that 1 when the adjustable locking lug 22 is in its operative, full line position of Figure l, the latch member 3! can be swung on its pivot 32 from its dotted line to its full line position of Figure 1 and so as to position the extension 33 thereof over a portion of the bar 23 and in the path of swinging movement of the extension 30 thereof to prevent the locking lug 22 being swung counterclockwise on its pivot toward its released, dotted line position of Figure 1. Where the fastenings 29 are employed with the lugs I5 and 22 the latch member 3| is not an essentia1 element but said lugs I5 and 22 are likewise adapted for use in clamping the tie l to a non-jointed part of the rail 19 and in which case the fastenings 29 would be omitted and the latch member 3| would effectively function to prevent the adjustable locking lug 22 moving to an inoperative or released position.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated which may obviously be resorted to, without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A combination metal tie and splice bar construction comprising, the combination with a tie adapted to be disposed beneath a pair of railway rails, a fixed locking lug secured to the upper side of said tie and transversely thereof and provided with an integral, elongated rail web engaging bar disposed with its plane substantially first mentioned bar and in opposed substantially coextensive relationship to the web engaging bar of the fixed locking lug, said web engaging bars having openings adjacent the ends thereof adapted to receive nut and bolt fastenings extendingthrough the webs of the abutting rail sections for securing said sections in end-to-end relationship and for clamping said rail to the tie and transversely thereof.

2. In combination with a metal tie adapted to be disposed beneath and transversely of a pair of railway rails, a fixed locking lug secured to the upper side of said tie and adjacent one end thereof and having an upwardly offset rail web engaging bar disposed with its plane substantially at a right angle to the tie and extending in a direction transversely thereof and adapted to bear against the outer side of a portion of the web of one of said rails, an adjustable locking lug for coaction with said fixed locking lug, said adjustable locking lug being substantially L- shaped and having the plane of the legs thereof disposed substantially at right angles to one another, one of the legs of the adjustable locking lug being adapted to engage on the upper surface of the tie, means for pivotally connecting said leg thereto intermediate of the ends thereof, said other leg being upwardly offset and adapted to bear against the opposite side of said rail Web and substantially in opposed relationship to the web engaging bar portion of the fixed locking lug when the first mentioned leg of the adjustable locking lug is disposed longitudinally of the tie, and a latch member for releasably engaging a portion of said first mentioned leg for holding the last mentioned leg of the adjustable locking lug in abutting engagement with the rail web.

3. A combination tie and splice bar construction as in claim 2, said portion of the first mentioned leg comprising an upturned extension, said latch member being swingably connected adjacent one end thereof to the tie and having a laterally projecting upwardly offset free end portion engaging said upturned extension when in an operative position and disposed in the path of swinging movement of said extension, when the adjustable locking lug is swung to a disengaged position for retaining the adjustable locking lug in an operative position.

THOMAS W. RORRER, SR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 847,148 Bahr Mar. 12, 1907 1,464,975 Diehl Aug. 14, 1923 2,024,306 Rorrer Dec. 17, 1935 

